How to Spend Six Days in Ireland

So you want to go to Ireland but have no idea how to narrow down all the beautiful sights and landscapes? Well, this is the road trip itinerary for you because I was in the same boat. I’m calling this the “Taste of Ireland” road trip because that’s what it is… just a taste what Ireland has to offer. An amuse bouche if you will. This 6 day road trip will whet your appetite and make you want to go back to Ireland again because who are we kidding? You can’t do justice to this amazing country in just under a week.

Get ready to amuse your bouche. PS, none of the links below are sponsored or affiliate links. Just links to websites to help you better plan your trip! Here’s a quick summary and a map to get you started. For more details about each day, keep scrolling down!

Before you go: Make sure to book your rental car and B&Bs well in advance of your trip. Automatic cars are more rare in Ireland so if you’re like me and don’t want to worry about a manual on those narrow roads, be sure to book it way ahead! Also, I booked my trip for May back in January and a lot of the popular B&Bs with good locations were already full! So, be aware of this and try to plan accordingly.

I booked a package deal through Great Value Vacations via Groupon Getaways. This gave me flight, car rental (automatic was an upcharge), hotel for the first night and vouchers for 5 nights of B&Bs anywhere in Ireland. Be sure to check places like Travelzoo and Groupon Getaways because they always have deals going for Ireland!

Day 1: Dublin
Fly into Dublin, preferably arriving in the morning. Check with your car rental company to see if you can get access to your car but not take it off the lot. I wouldn’t advise taking your rental car into Dublin! I was able to get the keys to my car, stow my luggage but leave my car at the airport until later. This was a life saver!

Grab the Airlink bus into the city. You can purchase a return ticket for €10.00 right at the airport.

Start at Trinity College and queue up to see the Trinity Library and the Book of Kells. This was definitely worth the wait in line! The book lover in me lost her mind with all those old books in that beautiful library. You can buy the tickets online if you want to avoid the lines here.

Next, go for a stroll or just grab a spot on the grass in St. Stephen’s Green. Don’t sit for too long because you may just fall asleep like I did!

Stop by the Temple Bar area and grab lunch or dinner (and a pint!) in one of the many pubs.

Wander over to Grafton street and get your shopping on. If you’re like me, you’re fighting the jet lag pretty hard at this point. Try to make it past dinner time and then head to bed. Spend the night in Dublin or head back to the airport and get your car to drive to Drogheda, the nearest town to Brú na Bóinne which is an absolute can’t miss part of the trip.

* If you want more time to explore Dublin, you can add a day here at the beginning of your trip or you can add a day at the end before you fly home.*

Day 2: Brú na Bóinne to Galway
Get up as early as you can manage and head to Brú na Bóinne. Brú na Bóinne is a UNESCO world heritage site which features three different Megalithic burial sites; Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. If you want details about what to do and see in Brú na Bóinne, check out my post here.

Hop back in your car and drive across the country to Galway. Check into your B&B and leave your car. I stayed at the Dun Roamin B&B which I would definitely recommend. It was about 10 minutes by foot to the city center and you were right across the street from Galway bay and the beach. Best of both worlds!

Walk into the city and wander around Quay Street/High Street to find some great souvenirs. Pop into Claddagh Jewellers for a claddagh ring and Galway Wollen Market for the perfect Irish sweater or blanket. While I was at Galway Wollen Market, I found a gorgeous green wool poncho for around 100 Euros. I get so many compliments at home!

Head to the King’s Head for dinner and make sure to order a side of brown bread. Then, grab a good spot at Tig Coili to listen to some trad (traditional Irish music) while sipping on a pint. I’m a cider drinker so I recommend the Magner’s!

*If you have an extra day or two, head up to Connemara which is an area that was on my list but I skipped for time. I heard from other travelers at my B&B that it was amazing!

Day 3:Galway to Cliffs of Moher
Hop on the Wild Atlantic Way and head out of Galway. I would leave in the morning so you have plenty of time to explore on your way to the Cliffs of Moher.

Stop at Dungaire Castle which is a gem that I stumbled upon. It was built in 1520 by the O’Hynes clan on the shore of Galway Bay. You can’t miss it as it’s right off of the WAW 🙂

Also make a quick stop at Black Head burren. Try to wrap your head around this large expanse of limestone in all directions butting up to Galway Bay. Make sure to keep your eyes out for wildflowers hiding in the crevices! As Edmund Ludlow famously said about the landscape, “Not a tree whereon to hang a man; no water in which to drown him; no soil in which to bury him.”

Make your way to the Cliffs of Moher. I would make sure to give yourself at least an hour or 2 to explore, longer if you want to walk up and down both sides of the cliffs. If you want more information about what to do there, check out my post here.

Head to your accommodation for the night. I picked the Cahergal Farmhouse which was just amazing. Set in beautiful farmland near Newmarket-on-Fergus, it was a perfect spot for a relaxing night after a day of driving. It is quite near Bunratty Castle where they host Medieval castle banquets which sounds quite entertaining! If you have extra time, I would definitely look into exploring the castle.

Day 4:Dingle Peninsula
Spend the whole day exploring the beauty of the Dingle Peninsula. This was by far my favorite part of my trip. If I had more time, I would have stayed the night in Dingle. The town of Dingle was so cute but I just stopped for lunch and didn’t spend too long exploring. In addition, it would allow for more of a leisurely exploration of the peninsula which would be nice! I did feel like the day was full but definitely doable. For a whole rundown what I did on the Dingle Peninsula, see the full post here.

Make your way to Killarney which is another cute (but touristy) town. Since it is the gateway to the more popular Ring of Kerry, make sure to book your hotel/B&B enough in advance! They have a great collection of cute shops there so make sure to spend time browsing if you’re like me and that’s your jam.

My favorite store was probably the Aran Sweater Market where they had a ton of selection and it was open late. This also started the saga of the sheep… long story short, I was looking for a gift for my nieces. I saw these hand knit sheep at the sweater market and thought they were great but wanted a second opinion. I texted my mom and brother with a photo but due to the time difference and lack of WiFi, I didn’t get their enthusiastic “yes!” until I was already halfway to my next stop. I looked EVERYWHERE for these dang sheep and they were nowhere to be found. Likely because they were knit with Aran Islands wool so the east coast wouldn’t have them readily available. There is a happy ending to this story because I ended up finding them at the airport. The airport! Another story about that will be coming up so stay tuned 😉

*If you have extra time, here would be a great place to add days. Add a day to drive the Ring of Kerry or head out to the Aran Islands. When I come back, I will definitely be heading out to the islands! I’ve only heard great things about them!

Day 5:Killarney National Park to Rock of Cashel to Kilkenny
Start your day with a drive through Killarney National Park. Make sure to stop by Ross Castle, Torc waterfall and the Ladies View. If you want to know more about what I did in the park, check out the full post here.

Drive across the middle of the country and make your way to the Rock of Cashel. Marvel at the site that has been significant to this area of Ireland since the 5th century. If you want more details about my time at the Rock of Cashel, see the full post here.

After you’ve finished hanging with St. Patrick at the Rock of Cashel, make your way to Kilkenny. Kilkenny was one of my favorite cities because it felt like people actually lived there and it wasn’t just made for tourists. Does that make sense? Make sure to head to Kilkenny Castle and at least wander the grounds. Since it was such a nice day when I was there, there were a lot of people making good use of the gardens! You can go inside the castle for a self-guided tour from 9-:5:30 most days so if you have time, it’s definitely worth checking out.

For dinner and an evening’s entertainment, I highly recommend Kyteler’s Inn. Make sure you get there early enough to grab a spot for the live music because it got packed in there! I saw the Raglan Rogues which were a hilarious and talented duo that are definitely worth seeing. I also highly recommend the sticky toffee pudding. 🙂

Day 6: Kilkenny to Powerscourt Estate to Glendalough
Leave Kilkenny in the morning and head to Powerscourt Estate. Make sure you allot enough time to explore the extensive gardens here! If you want more information about Powerscourt, head to my post on it here.

I spent the night in Glendalough so I did Powerscourt Estate and gardens first but since they are quite close together, you could do this in either order. Make your way over to the monastic settlement in Glendalough, nestled in the Wicklow Mountains National Park. If you are an avid hiker, I would definitely make sure to leave enough time in your schedule to properly walk around this beautiful national park. To see what I got up to in Glendalough, check out my post on it here.

That’s your whole six day trip! Each day in Ireland is full to the brim of gorgeous scenery, historic sites and of course Irish charm. Make sure to let me know if you have any questions about the itinerary or if you want more specifics on what I did. I hope you enjoyed this and let me know if you want to see more itineraries in the future!

24 Comments

Oh, wow! I like this post…that Irish nature is just incredibly beautiful. It’s so rugged, yet elegant. I bet you had a great trip – you certainly covered a lot of ground! I also LOVE the library…but I’m a fan of libraries, period, so that would be a place that I would love to visit and spend some time at.

Wow awesome road trip suggestion. I was an au pair in Ireland for 2 months but didn’t see much unfortunately as I was always working and saving for my epic Aussie road trip… I love nature and hiking and will be definately back one day to explore the country.

This looks so great! I’ve (ashamedly) never been to Ireland (I’m from England!) but it’s up there on my list, the scenery looks absolutely stunning. Love that you’ve created a taste-of guide; it’s always so hard to choose which destinations you should visit when you’ve got a limited timeframe, but this looks like a really worthwhile itinerary!

Thank you! The Cliffs of Moher were really cool! They are touristy but worth the hype! Ireland is a great place to hike! I’d love to go back and do more of that next time with lots of pub stops along the way 🙂

What a fantastic itinerary! You sure packed a lot of adventure into a short amount of time. I also really appreciated your tips (like not trying to drive into Dublin) that you learned through your own travels. Thanks so much for sharing!

Gah this looks like such an incredible trip!! Ireland has been on my bucket list for forever and I need to just GO! I’m finally going to make it to Scotland this fall, so I’m getting closer and closer!

What a gorgeous post and some great suggestions! I adore Ireland, but although I’ve been to Dublin twice, I’ve spent most of my time in the north. I definitely would like to get across to the southern half of Ireland some day, and you have some great suggestions here!

This is so wonderful! I laughed about you falling asleep in Stephen’s green haha… airplane sleep doesn’t count so that’s totally fair 😛 looks like an amazing route! I’m headed to Ireland next month, super excited!

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